The Best Pizza Cutters of 2021

Nothing is more frustrating than hacking away at the puffy outer crust. While the Pampered Chef’s well-balanced 4-inch wheel sailed seamlessly through our test pies, we still appreciated the additional square blade on the other side, designed to slice even the toughest crusts into submission. The only issue was that—while the wheel comes with a protective cover—the outer blade does not, which makes us wonder how safe it is to store inside a drawer.

Handle-free pizza wheels are surging in popularity due to their diminutive size and discreet shape, making them easy to tuck in a drawer. They also require you to press downwards instead of at an angle, which should (in theory) provide better leverage. So, if you’re going to go this route, we favor the OXO, which made sharper cuts then the other models we tried. The non-slip material covering the outer edge is comfortable to hold, and the whole thing comes apart easily for deep cleaning either by hand or dishwasher.

Made of stainless steel and equipped with a cushioned handle, the OXO has a lot going for it. There's even a die-cast zinc thumb guard to keep your digits away from the blade. Too bad that thoughtfulness doesn’t extend to storage, as there’s no cover to help you put it away safely. And while it’s really great at what it does, it doesn’t quite match the power of the PL8 or have any extra features.

Our favorite thing about Kitchy is that the protective cover is part of the design. You simply slide it open to use it and then close it when you're done. You don’t have to ever worry about losing it. It also fits seamlessly in the palm of your hand, which is part of the appeal of wheel-less models and takes up minimal space in the drawer. It wasn’t the most effective slicer, though, as we had to make repeat cuts on some of our pies.

The Winware packs a surprising amount of slicing power for a tiny, inexpensive blade. It takes up a negligible amount of space, although the fact that it doesn’t have a safety cover should keep you from throwing it in your junk drawer. There’s no denying that this is a budget product, as the materials aren’t made to survive long-term wear and tear. It’s also simply too small to take on more demanding cutting jobs.

Frankly, the Zyliss scared us. There’s no cover available for the half-moon blade and, while it comes apart for “easy” cleaning, there’s a pretty good chance of severing an artery while you’re at it. It's not a top performer either, so we don’t really see the upside of engaging in Russian roulette.

We admit to feeling like a boss wielding this impressive blade. But when it comes to cutting pizzas and flatbreads, it felt a little overkill. The Checkered Chef didn’t slice any more efficiently than our preferred models, quickly caused our hand to cramp, and took up more room than it should in a drawer. We also found it a bit of a headache to clean. Although you can access all surface areas (unlike other kinds of cutters, which have sneaky crevices food can hide inside), it still had a film of caked-on dough and cheese after a run through the dishwasher.